Keeps Oxygen
by nocens-somnium
Summary: Graduation was our last day to live. Every day after that was just a day to die.
1. Brand New Colony

**Keeps Oxygen**

**Summary:** _Behind these masks we renegade against the sound, We'll let our voices slowly fade and ring out. Graduation was our last happy day._

**Disclaimer: **

_One shoe  
Two shoe  
Don't own  
__Don't sue_

* * *

_Prologue. . ._

_"-terrible, fire **everywhere-**"_

**The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.**

_"Birdie, Birdie, Birdie..."_

_"It's been near 5 years, Alice. She has to move on eventually."_

_"Is it really so wrong that I find beauty in humanity?"_

_"I must've graduated at **least** 15 times, and the robes never get any less itchy."_

* * *

"And now, may I be the first to introduce to you the Forks High School class of -" an explosion of static and cheering. Our graduating class was small; only 97 students. I imagine my class back in Pheonix would've amounted to approximately 800. Not that I minded. Knowing the luck my old school had had in the past with commencement ceremonies, I was overjoyed with the regular Washington overcast clouds. Back in Arizona, the outdoor ceremonies were rained on (usually the first rainy day that year), and the indoor ceremonies were plagued (_blessed?)_ with defective air-conditioning, where the temperature would mount to over 100 Farenheit. Definitely not memorable for the right reasons. 

Breathless with excitement, I joined my classmates in tossing my hat up into the air, with my first solidly connecting with Eric Yorkie's face.

In habit, I covered my eyes with my hands, not wanting to see the damage I may have caused. I _knew_ today had been going far too well - I hadn't ripped my gown, there was no tripping while crossing the stage to receive my diploma, and the ultimate - I told Rosalie a joke (_"Two guys meet up in a bar..."_), and she genuinely thought it was funny! She actually thought it was funny enough that she went and told it to Carlisle, Jasper, and Esme. Needless to say, I was stunned (and partially flattered).

Back to my current predicament, though.

I moved my hands away from my eyes.

"Eric," I moaned, "I am so, so, _so _sorry!"

Eric rubbed his nose beaming, almost as if I had not just decked him one, but instead had just declared my undying love for him.

Fool.

"Don't worry about it Bella, I-"

I waved my hands wildly, as if trying to shove his words back into his mouth.

"No, Eric, seriously," I could see Alice, looking like a model in her cap and gown, walking towards us. " I don't want you to remember me as the girl you nailed you one at the end of commencement." I was beginning to feel horrible - Eric's eyes were already starting to bruise up.

Eric looked like he was about to reply, but Alice had (finally) arrived at my side. "Come on, Bella. Everyone's waiting for us by the first building. She took my hand, and I could only wave to Eric as Alice guided me through the throng of people - there were only 97 graduates, but it seemed that everyone had invited 20 people each, not including people living in town without relatives graduating. Everything in town ended up closed. Apparently, graduation was quite the event.

The crowd thinned out, and eventually I could see a familiar group of faces.

Charlie and Phil were leaning against the side of the building about four feet apart, each with his hands shoved into his pockets. It was pretty apparent that neither of them were feeling very comfortable with the situation. I made a mental note to thank Phil for skipping his game in South Carolina to come to my graduation.

A couple feet over, my mother, Esme, and Rosalie were standing in a bit of a circle. Esme and Rosalie appeared to be trying to make conversation, but Renee (who, by the looks of her pink nose, was not immune to the meaningful ceremony) was openly gawking at Rosalie. While I knew how she was feeling, I couldn't help but feel slightly mortified for my mother. Rosalie must've sensed my gaze, and looked over at Alice and I. She rolled her eyes at me in a not unkind way, and then returned to the conversation.

Jasper and Emmett, mature as they were, were having a staring contest. Each had a look of utmost intensity on his face, as if his brain was within seconds of exploding. I was pretty sure that this would end the way it usually did - Jasper would use his powers to get Emmett distracted and focused on something else -most likely Rosalie - which always made Emmett blink or move his gaze. Nonetheless, it was quite the ritual.

But something was missing.

"Alice, where are Edward and Carlisle?"

Yes, where _was _my personal Adonis and his equally attractive 'father'? The last time I saw him was as he graced the stage with his beauty to accept his diploma - one of many that would be going into storage, or so he told me the night before. I thought my heart was going to stop as he watched me with his piercing gaze as he strode towards the principal, breaking eye contact only when his diploma was shoved into his hand. As for Carlisle, being one of the most wealthy and respected citizens of Forks, gave the address to the students. It was absolutely beautiful, and I'm sure that there were few, if any, dry eyes in the audience.

And now they were gone.

"Alice, where are Edward and Carlisle?"

Alice hesitated a bit, and it seemed that she had been deep in thought. She blinked once, then looked at me as if her mind was just registering what I had asked.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, and pulled me closer as she dropped her voice, "They just_ ran_ back to the house-" she winked at the mention of simply running back to their house (which was more of a mansion), which lay on the outskirts of town "-Tanya and the others never showed up, you see."

I nodded. The Cullens had invited the Denali Clan from Alaska to our graduation. Edward was absolutely giddy about introducing me to them, Tanya especially. He stuck to the bare minimums when describing her, and would simply repeat saying how he couldn't wait for his 'two favourite girls' to meet. I raised an eyebrow at this comment, but didn't say anything. As graduation came closer, Edward's mood seemed to constantly improve, so much that when we were laying in bed the night before, he had been speaking with such enthusiasm that I half expected him to start jumping up and down on the bed.

As we drew closer, my mother finally noticed us, and threw herself at me, bursting into tears.

"Oh Bella, we're all _so proud_ of you! Oh my, my baby's all grown up, going off into the world-"

She proceeded to sob several incoherent comments (one thing I did hear included the purchase of kitchen utensils), but not before making some odd -and moist - transition from me to Alice, who simply patted my mom on the head.

Charlie and Phil left their places on the wall to congratulate the graduates. When I hugged Charlie, I could see unshed tears resting in his eyes. It broke my heart to think of how hard the next couple of months would be for him.

I gave Phil an awkward hug. As I thought of it more and more, I came to realisation that I never really knew him. Flashing him a smile and thanking him for coming, I turned back to the Cullens - my 'extended' family.

Esme came forward first, glowing like the proud mother she was. She kissed me on the forehead, and held me in the motherly fashion that I'd grown accustomed to expecting from her.

"My dear Bella," She breathed stroking my hair. I could feel her smile on my head. "Congratulations."

Rosalie followed, and gave me a hug and a kiss, one shoulder pat, one cheek. I didn't need Jasper's power to know that she was feeling blindingly awkward. Despite the combined efforts of myself and the Cullens (Edward excluded), Rose still felt guilty for what is now referred to as "The Volterra Incident." According to Emmett, I needed to be turned as soon as possible, or else we would run out of places to go without some sort of dark and horrible memories. All I can say is it's a good thing he said that while Edward was away hunting, or Emmett would have more to worry about than a broken TV.

"Congratulations, Isabella." Rosalie mumbled as she stepped back, staring at her feet.

Emmett bounded up, clearly unperturbed by his (expected) loss.

Scooping me up in his arms, he spun me around. "Ah, it feels like only yesterday you were a shy little junior who couldn't walk across a flat surface to save her life, and you blushed! You constantly, constantly blushed! And now, you are a high school graduate...and...you still blush..."

"It's because you're cutting off her circulation, Em." Jasper walked up beside Emmett, a smug grin on his face. Unlike Rosalie, Jasper and I were able to come to an understanding when it came to what happened in September, and now were pretty good friends, if I did say so myself. Emmett set me down on the ground, and Jasper extended his hand. "Congrats, Bella." He then took a step closer and murmured in my ear, "The first time around is always emotional, but you'll get into the loop of things eventually."

A slight breeze rustled the trees.

"Yes, Jasper, _thank you _for that _enlightening _piece of information."

My heart leapt into my throat. I could've recognized that beautiful voice anywhere.

I turned around and smiled. No one could make these drab black gowns look like a couture suit like my angel.

"I was wondering where you went." I mock-scolded him as I went up on my toes (no mean feat, considering I was already in 3-inch heels) and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Edward smiled sheepishly, and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Sorry, I had to check on our M.I.A. guests."

"And?"

He frowned, and his brow furrowed. "They still haven't arrived. Carlisle's still at the house in case they show up. I just don't understand it - Tanya said that they were planning on arriving at 7 this morning." His tone turned disapproving . "If they were going to be delayed, they could've at least contacted us."

I gave Edward the biggest hug I could. While I knew -_he _knew- that there would be other graduations, I could sense that he had really wanted the Denali clan to be around for this one.

"Well, I'm sure they didn't miss grad intentionally. In fact, by the time we get back to your house, I bet they'll be waiting in the living room with a good reason."

Edward smiled wanly. We both knew it was a lame attempt to make him feel better, but it must've worked a little, or he wouldn't've been smiling, right?

"Edward, Bella!" We loosened our embrace to turn to Alice, who was wildly gesturing for us to come with her. "C'mon, we're heading back to our place now!" She crowed, "And we're taking _my _graduation present!"

I took Edward's hand. Yes, Edward had stayed true to his word, and two weeks after we had returned from Italy, he took Alice and bought that yellow Porsche, and Alice took every chance she had to drive it.

An idea popped into my head as Jessica walked by.

"Hey Jess? Do you think you could take a picture for me?"

She raised an eyebrow at me- while we were talking more, we still weren't exactly close. However, she agreed to take the picture. I handed Jessica my camera, and Alice and I attempted to fit all of the Cullens, my parents, and Phil to fit the small rectangle of the camera. After observing and over-analysing everything, we crouched down in front between Jasper and Edward.

"Okay, everyone say 'Cheese'!"

"Ew," I could hear Emmett behind me groan as the flash went off. Supressing a giggle, I stood up from my rather uncomfortable position and went to retrieve my camera. As Jessica handed my camera back, I knew that this might be the last time I see her, and I knew I should say something, if anything.

"Jess...I know we haven't really talked the past year, but I just want to say that I appreciate everything you did for me, even if I wasn't so responding."

"Yes you would've-"

"Now, yes, but not at the beginning of the year; you remember what I was like. But you were there, and you did try to help me. I refused it, which was stupid. So, all in all, I just want to thank you for the past year and a half, and I hope you have a good time at Boston U."

The next thing I knew, I was being attacked by a mass of curls. Jessica seemed to be trying to tell me something, but I couldn't understand under all of the sobbing.

Apparently High School Graduation is emotional.

Then it was time for my parents to go home.

My mom gave me another hug, which brought on another wave of tears. Phil gently put his arm around her shoulders and led her to their rental car - they were flying back to Jasksonville tonight.

Charlie walked up and gave me another hug and a kiss on the cheek. Thn he turned to Edward. I held my breath, expecting the worst. However, Charlie was fairly civil this time - he held to fingers in front of his eyes, then pointed one finger at Edward. Charlie shook his head and walked away.

Yes, quite civil.

I rolled my eyes. It was becoming apparent that Charlie was never going to let what happened this year go.

Edward opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. No it's-all-my-fault talk today. "Not today. I'm over it, and if Charlie isn't, then too bad for him. Now come on."

He gave a deep sigh, but let it go.

As we pushed through the small crowded that had formed around Alice's car, I couldn't help but laugh and shake my head. We may have graduated, but some things never changed.

* * *

_Yes! This first chapter is **finally **finished! I never thought it would end!  
And in case you were wondering, here is the joke Bella told Rosalie at the beginning:_

Two guys meet up in a bar. The first one asks, "Did your hear the news - Mike is dead??!!!"

"Woah, what the hell happened to him?"

"Well he was on his way over to my house the other day and when he arrived outside the house he didn't brake properly and boom - He hit the curb, the car flipped over and he crashed through the sunroof - Went flying through the air and smashed through my upstairs bedroom window."

"What a horrible way to die!"

"No no, he survived that, that didn't kill him at all. So, he's landed in my upstairs bedroom and he's all covered in broken glass on the floor. Then, he spots the big old antique wardrobe we have in the room and reaches up for the handle to try to pull himself up. He's just dragging himself up when bang, this massive wardrobe comes crashing down on top of him, crushing him and breaking most of his bones."

"What a way to go, that's terrible!"

"No no, that didn't kill him he survived that. He managed to get the wardrobe off him and crawls out onto the landing, he tries to pull himself up on the banister but under his weight, the banister breaks and he goes falling down on to the first floor. In mid air, all the broken banister poles spin and fall on him, pinning him to the floor, sticking right through him."

"Now that is the most unfortunate way to go!"

"No no, that didn't kill him, he even survived that. So he's on the downstairs landing, just beside the kitchen. He crawls in to the kitchen, tries to pull himself up on the stove, but reached for a big pot of boiling hot water, whoosh, the whole thing came down on him and burned most of his skin off him."

"Man, what a way to go!"

"No no, he survived that, he survived that! He's lying on the ground, covered in boiling water and he spots the phone and tries to pull himself up, to call for help, but instead he grabs the light switch and pulls the whole thing off the wall and the water and electricity didn't mix and so he got electrocuted, wallop, 10,000 volts shot through him."

"Now that is one awful way to go!"

"No no, he survived that..."

"Hold on now, just how the hell did he die?"

"I shot him!"

"You shot him? What the hell did you shoot him for?"

"He was wrecking my house."

* * *

_Yes, it's kind of lame, but it was definitely appreciated, considering all of the Mike-hate in the Cullen-air._

_If you have gotten this far, then thank you for reading, and please please review!_

_NS_


	2. Fade Into The Night

**Keeps Oxygen**

**Summary:** _This was our last day to live. Let's live it before we die._

**Disclaimer: **

_One shoe  
Two shoe  
Don't own  
__Don't sue_

* * *

Chapter 1

_"-terrible, fire **everywhere-**"_

**The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.**

_"Birdie, Birdie, Birdie..."_

_"It's been near 5 years, Alice. She has to move on eventually."_

_"Is it really so wrong that I find beauty in humanity?"_

_"I must've graduated at **least** 15 times, and the robes never get any less itchy."_

* * *

"God, I must've graduated at least 10 times now, but could the robes get any less itchy? No-"

"-Jasper, please change the station-"

"-I like this song, it's catchy-"

"-Country, Jasper? Please, just-"

"_I _like it, Edward, don't make him change it."

"Thank you, Bella!"

"-I mean, there are a _thousand _different fabrics they could've used-"

"Real men like Country, Ed!"

"Emmett McCarthy Cullen, I don't care if you are immortal, you will _sit down _when we are in a moving vehicle, you're going to wear the tires out before we get home!"

"-But Rose-!"

"That's right, _Emmy, _sit down and keep your girly opinions to yourself!"

"-And Cotton's hypo-allergenic, too! Poor Angela Weber was breaking out into hives the size of golf-balls! I'll have to make a comment to the principal-"

"_-Lyin' on a beach, wearin' nothing but a smile, playin' kissy-kissy, smoochy-smoochy, talkin' mushy-mushy 'bout nothing-"_

"Who says Teenagers grow up after 50 years or more?"

"-Oh, come _on, _Esme-"

"Alice, Rose - _Kill the engines!_"

-STOP-

I looked up at Edward confused. We were only 2 miles away from the house - why stop now?

"Edward, what-"

"C'mon, Edward, we're-"

"I can't hear Carlisle's thoughts."

Everyone went silent. Out of everyone, Carlisle's thoughts the clearest to Edward. If he couldn't hear Carlisle, then something was wrong.

Esme took a deep, unneccessary breath, as if preparing herself. "Alice, do - can you see anything?"

We all turned to Alice, who had already shut her eyes. She was deeply concentrating, and for what felt like hours we sat in dead silence and I can almost promise that I felt my heart stop when her eyes opened, full of fear.

"I- I couldn't see - Like static, Couldn't focus- Everything was so fast, so loud-" Alice stumbled over her words; I had never seen her this disturbed by a vision. Jasper took her hand, and I could feel a wave of calm. "There are vampires- at least two, maybe more, and not good ones. They're in the house. They've been waiting for us to return for hours." She shut her eyes again, paused for a brief moment, then began speaking again. "We're in the living room. None of us are moving. There's screaming - a girl's screaming-" I could feel eyes glance at me, then flash back to Alice. "But. . . Edward, Carlisle, and I aren't there." She stopped talking, and it seemed as if she was having another vision, but when she re-opened her eyes, I could see that it wasn't. There was a look of deep remorse on her face - a look I had never dreamed of seeing.

_This isn't happening, this isn't happening, _was the only coherent thought going through my head. I shut my eyes. I couldn't deal with this, not right now. I wasn't ready to lose all of this happiness, not after having lived some of the best months of my life!

Everything felt so far away. Distantly I could hear Esme ask if Edward could hear any of the vampires' thoughts. The conversation sped up, and I was unable to hear what was being said. I was launched back into reality when I felt the car move again.

_"What?" _I could hardly hear myself speak.

Edward looked at me, a deep sadness crossing his beautiful face. "They already know we're here. If we don't go. . . Putting it lightly, the whole town will be dead by dusk should we try to leave. We _have _to go."

Sheer terror rocked my body. It appeared that I would finally have feelings of self-preservation. How odd, though, that it would have to occur when facing a potential octuple-homocide.

**

* * *

**

**Edward:**

I felt a tremor rack Bella's body, and I let go of her hand to put my arm around her. If ever there was a time that I would watn to read my love's mind, now would be the oppertune moment. If only I knew the words to console her, relieve her of her fear.

Alice had said she, Carlisle, and I were missing from the scene she had envisioned. Where had we gone? Horror slowly filled me: Would the others be forced to watch our murders, where that to be the case? I held Bella closer, and hoped with all my might that that wouldn't be the case.

Dear God, anything but that.

We pulled up in front of the house, and filed towards the house slowly, a dead silence thick in the air. I blocked out everyone's thoughts. I couldn't bear to hear them.

We were almost all assembled on the porch when the door swung open and a familiar face became visible. My jaw dropped - This was one the last people I expected to see here.

* * *

**Bella:**

"Carmen!"

I furrowed my brow. This made no sense - we were supposed to be fearing for our lives and here was one of the Denali Clan.

Carmen certainly was breath-taking - A long mane of chestnut locks cascaded down her back, and she had such beautifully set features it was almost painful to look at. She distinctly struck me as French, though I knew her origins were Spanish. Edward had told me before that Carmen was 'more plain looking than the other girls.' I could hardly begin to imagine what the other three girls could possibly look like, what with them being succubus'.

Esme, taking charge, took a step forward. Her position as the matriarch of the coven was clear. "Carmen, what-"

Carmen lunged forward and grasped Esme's arm. "Oh god, dear Esme, it was horrible! It was terrible, fire, fire everywhere, I barely made it out with my life-"

Everyone's mouths were agape. _What was going on? _Was now going to be the one time that we could bet against Alice?

The woman was clearly distraught - I highly doubted that we would have to worry about her killing us. "Come inside," she begged, yanking on Esme's arm, urgently trying to usher us inside, "Hurry, please!"

I looked up at Edward, his face unreadable. What was he thinking: What was _she _thinking?

His face was blank - either he knew someting and didn't want to convey it, or he truly didn't know.

Alice, however, had a knowing look upon her face,and asked, "Carmen, where is Carlisle?"

Now, _maybe _it was just all in my head, but I could've snown I saw something change in Carmen's eyes.I shook my head a little - No, Carmen was a friend of the Cullens. There should be no reason to fear or distrust her.

Carmen was now near incoherent with her dry sobbing, and I could only understand the word "hurry."

I exchanged looks with Alice and Jasper. They both shrugged as if to say, _What else can we do right now?_ So, bewildered beyond belief, we all filed into the house.

No sooner had the door clicked shut, I heard Edward emit a low, feral growl. I turned to look at him, only to find that I couldn't.

_I couldn't move my body._


	3. Pride

**Keeps Oxygen**

**Summary:** _Graduation has been known to separate people. But this? This is a little extreme._

**Disclaimer: **

_One shoe  
Two shoe  
Don't own  
__Don't sue_

* * *

Chapter 2: Pride

_"-terrible, fire **everywhere-**"_

**The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.**

_"Birdie, Birdie, Birdie..."_

_"It's been near 5 years, Alice. She has to move on eventually."_

_"Is it really so wrong that I find beauty in humanity?"_

_"I must've graduated at **least** 15 times, and the robes never get any less itchy."_

* * *

Carmen slipped her hands off of Esme's arm and spun around, a smug grin dancing across her face. 

"Now, was that _really _so hard?" She asked innocently.

I could feel my blood run cold. I knew there had been something off about her. Why hadn't I the nerve to say anything?

"Carmen, _what _are you doing?" I could hear Rosalie ask darkly behind me.

A horrid smirk replaced her smile. "Oh, nothing, really. Just taking something into my own hands." She began to circle us like a hawk, hands clasped behind her back. I followed her with my eyes until she fell out of my line of vision. After that, I had to try and follow her with my ears. "You see, I am very big on loyalty, you Cullens should know that by now! You should also know, when someone I am loyal to is harmed in any way, shape _and/or _form, I get very, _very_ angry." She paused for a moment to take an unnecessary breath. "I'm just glad I re-composed myself before the guests arrived. Carlisle just wouldn't see reason."

Carlisle.

_Carlisle._

Esme voiced my thoughts. "_Where _is my _husband,_ Carmen?" Esme growled. I was stunned. I had never heard Esme growl before.

"Esme, sweetheart, be a dear and refrain from interrupting me when I'm trying to-"

"_What _did you _do _with my _husband!?" _Esme shrieked. I shut my eyes, but not in time to avoid seeing my surrogate mother being slapped hard across the face. Echos of rage rupted around me, and I could feel tears well up in my eyes. My heart was pounding exclamations of fear, and I wanted nothing more than for it to beat silent.

I took several deep breaths to try and steady myself, then opened my eyes. I wasn't expecting to see Carmen's face inches aways from mine, yet sure enough, there she was. I gasped, and tears slipped out of my eyes.

"Aww," She cooed mockingly, "Is baby gel fwightened of the big, bad vampire?" She clucked her tongue and shook her head. Carmen ran her fingers through my hair, delicately at first, then more sharply across my scalp.

"Leave her, Carmen," Edward growled besides me. What I wouldn't give to know what he was thinking - what he was _hearing_.

Carmen straightened up, glaring at Edward. "Thank you, Edward, for keeping me on track." She said flatly as she wandered to the front.

"Now, where was I? Oh, yes - loyalty. You see, loyalty is very important to me. Anothing important to me? I feel that a relationship between two people, be they vampire, human, fish, _whatever,_ is sacred. When a relationship is violently cut short by a third party. . . Well, that's where issues arise.

"You see, it all goes back. . . oh, about a year ago? A disturbance was going on down here, and after all was said and done, a vampire arrived on our doorsteps: our dear friend Laurent."

Goosebumps flew up my arms as memories of _that day_ in the meadow flooded my mind. "He told us of the goings on down here - we heard about James, and about his tracking of dear Isabella; We were told about how his mate was doing his dirty work in Forks while James perused through Arizona. Now, I didn't give a lot of thought to the situation at the time - our clan wasn't being directly involved, and who were we to refuse someone who wished to changer their lifestyle? - but then a change of events occured, and I just couldn't stay a spectator.

Eventually word spread back that James had been destroyed, and by Cullen hands, no less. At first I figured, 'Wonderful! Nothing should get in the way of what these two have,' how_ever..._" she trailed off, a dark tone came through in her voice.

"Shortly after you all left Denali this spring, I had a visit from a dear relative of mine who had perviously been assumed dead. I'm sure you remember my dear cousin Victoria?"

This was sick. A sick nightmare, a sick joke, I told myself, trying to breathe. This couldn't be real. _This wasn't real._

Carmen was beaming. "Isn't irony lovely!? The vampire _you _are (or _were,_ should I say) trying to _destroy_ is one of _my nearest _and _dearest!"_ She let out a humourless laugh. "Isn't it funny how things can work out sometimes?"

"Hilarious Carmen, really _witty,"_ Rosalie snapped. I started, having forgotten about the others. "Will you get through your little glory rant and get to the point already!?"

I could practically hear Carmen's eyes darken. "You, my dear rose, will be the _first _to go if you don't _shut up!_"

Her voice then switched to a sickly sweet tone. "You're right, though - the point. The point is, you Cullens haven't been as good as you put on to be. The point is, I do not appreciate being lied to."

She paused, then to Victoria, asked, "So sorry for ignoring you dear. Has our little issue been taken care of?"

The redhead of my nightmares nodded. "It was very easy; I had no struggle from him. It seemed he knew what was coming." She droned in a monotonous voice. A pit formed in my stomach, and in my heart I knew that the 'him' they spoke of was indeed Carlisle.

"Good," Carmen purred. Her voice took on a more formal tone. "That means we'll have to work a bit quicker. I should've expected good behaviour from the good doctor."

Carmen sauntered over to me, and again purred, "After all, what's better than a dead Cullen?"

With that, she lunged at me.

I closed my eyes, and prayed for the end to be quick.

But it wasn't.

* * *


	4. Join Me

**Keeps Oxygen**

**Summary:** _Graduation has been known to separate people. But this? This is a little extreme._

**Disclaimer: **

_One shoe  
Two shoe  
Don't own  
__Don't sue_

**Author's Note:**

_**Warning:**_

_This chapter is guilty of a constant perspective change. _

_Pay attention!_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 3: Join Me

_Freesia: Bella._

_Bella's blood._

**Cover Me Up.**

_"Birdie, Birdie, Birdie..."_

_"It's been near 5 years, Alice. She has to move on eventually."_

_"Is it really so wrong that I find beauty in humanity?"_

_"She is what she is - no matter..she can not play God, not with the cards she has been dealt."_

_**"Here's that favour you owed me."**_

**Would you die tonight for love?**

* * *

**Bella's P.o.V:**

I should have known.

Only _I_ could look death in the face more than once.

It all happened extremely fast- Just as Carmen was to have reached me, I felt a slight breeze, a slight tear in my neck, and a soft murmur of some delicate music, far too fast for my human ears. Arms slid around my waist, and I was barely able to register what was going on when pain set in.

I -_we-_ were gone.

And it was black.

* * *

**Edward's P.o.V:**

After all we had been through together:

_That first fateful day in Biology;_

_The encounter with Tyler Crowley's van;_

_Port Angeles;_

_James;_

_Bella's eighteenth birthday;_

_The werewolves;_

_Victoria;_

_Volterra._

After everything I had done, after all I had tried to do to ensure my love a safe and normal (_as normal as one could be_) life, after everything, I was still going to lose my Bella.

I--

I failed her. I failed my entire family.

I could only pray that I would be taken shortly after my love- none of this life was worth it if she wasn't there to share it with me.

"After all, . . . ." I heard Carmen say, but my thoughts were with Alice, who was forgoing a vision.

_

* * *

_

_Two tall figures, a man and a woman stood across from each other, their stances agressive, faces only vague outlines- The man and woman exchange words, all the while a screaming is in the background- two others with vague outlines for facial features join the image- the woman and man comment on a 'bird'_

_a bird. . ._

* * *

_Edward!_ I heard Alice call in her thoughts, _Edward, the woman, it's-_

Carmen lunged at my Bella, and before I could even think a change in the atmosphere occured that I'm sure made everyone's hair stand on end.

_Relax, Edward, your birdy is safe with me. _A crisp voice cut through the air seconds later. "To answer your question_,mi madre_, there is one thing better than a dead Cullen."

Without a moment's hesitation, they were gone, but not before the scent of freesia flooded the room.

_Freesia: Bella._

_Bella's blood._

The loss infuriated Carmen, who let her feelings be known by throwing the couch through the south wall (I could hear Esme curse in her mind - that window was extremely difficult to set up, even for vampires), with the scream of a banshee to match.

Carmen turned on her cousin. "_You _were supposed to have taken care of them, cousin!" She bellowed, yet Victoria did not flinch.

"Calm, cousin. You aimed well; a wound like that, the girl will not last long. The succubus is just that - a succubus. She is not God, nor can she play God. The temptation will madden her. It will only be a matter of time. She cannot fight what we were meant to do," She made a grand sweeping gesture towards us. "None of them can."

Carmen pursed her lips, furious with the twist in her heavily-detailed plot.

"The succubus does offer a fair point, though. . . "

* * *

_Change_

* * *

_Somewhere on the East Germany border. . ._

Late afternoon bled quickly into night as timezones were leapt across. Continents had gone by in a blur, and if one with a strong enough eye-strength were paying attention, they would have the slight possibility of seeing a leggy young woman cradling a smaller being protectively in the crook of her arm.

The tall angel could see that there was little life left in the girl - with a wound like the one obtained, she would be gone within half the hour, at best luck. As she came nearer to the town, she knew that she had no choice in the matter; what needed to be done needed to be done without haste.

With a near-silent murmur to no one ("_Forgive me, Edward,"_), she slid her teeth through the delicate throat of her 'passenger', deliberately aiming for the jugular (remarkably close to the area of the throat wound).

She could feel the smaller one's body go rigid, and clutched her closer. Time was of the utmost importance now - it would be seconds (minutes, if dumb luck existed) before she began to cry out, drawing attention to the pair.

With stealth-like stillness she slipped through the shadows, and arrived at a doorstep with tall doors and cracked stone steps. She pounded her fists on the door until finally it was opened a shade. Without explanation, she forced herself through the door, only muttering to the figure behind the door, "Here's that favour you owed me."

All this in a matter of 3 minutes.

* * *

_"This is what you classify as a favour?"_

The opener of the door exclaimed incredulously. He was a tall man with broad-set shoulders, a shaved head, and a nose that must have been broken, and never healed properly, not even with the change. His eyes burned a deep onyx at the sight of his intruder and the -now screeching- human.

"Given the circumstances, yes, I find this to be the perfect time to cash in my favour. Plus, you've owed me my favour for a great deal of years - think of the conversion rate."

The man snarled. "Irina, is this _really _the best time for humour?"

The woman called Irina chose not to reply, as she carried her 'load' into a spare bedroom. Closing the door behind her quietly, she shut her eyes.

"I need you to watch over her for me for a little while."

Were the man not already long-dead, it was highly likely that the words just spoken would've given him an aneurysm of some sort.

"_What!?!" _He sputtered. "You asked for a favour, Irina, and a favour I will repay, but I am not going to mother-hen this-_this-"_

Irina stepped away from the doorway and put her hands on her hips. "There was no question in that statement. You _will_ watch over her for me. I know what I did was not the best idea, and I certainly wasn't thinking rationally, but you must realise the importance of her survival. The girl, she is one of Carlisle Cullen's-"

The man snorted. "Do I truly look like our dear Aro? I can't be bowled over with doting words of love for the good doctor like that foolish sac of bones. Just because _Aro_ and the others preach the gospel of Carlisle Cullen, just because we are accquaintances in some forms, does _not _mean I share all of their beliefs."

Irina pressed on. "Yes, but Korso, you did get along with his surrogate son, Edward." The man named Korso folded his arms. "This girl, this little bird, Edward loves her. Even you, dead as you are, you understand love to a degree-"

Korso snarled angrily. "Don't you _ever _bring that up _ever _again!" A lamp down the hall from the foyer in which the pair stood shattered. He exhaled deeply through his nose. "Why don't you watch her yourself? Or is the lovely succubus above doing her own dirty work? Or those Cullens whom you love so dearly?"

Irina took a deep breath, and exhaled it. "_Mi madre, _Carmen. Something is not right with her. She isn't herself- she's possessed, almost. One day I went hunting, and returned the next to find the home we were living in in Alaska completely and utterly destroyed." She paused, as she tried to contain invisible tears. "Carmen's husband, Eleazar. . . My sister, Kate. . . I didn't make it back in time to save them." She looked away, and tried to re-compose herself. "My other sister, Tanya- I'm unsure of her whereabouts. If I'm going to be able to try and stop Carmen, I'll need her help. Carmen right now is with the Cullens in Washington."

She froze- realisation dawned on her.

"Carmen is still in the house."

Irina took several large strides towards the doors. "I have to return. I don't know if-"

"Go."

She turned to look back at Korso. "Korey-"

"Go." He did not face her. "We'll watch over your little 'birdie' for you. You have my word as a Bezraodka."

She nodded, and fled out the door. Korso followed behind her, and shut the door silently behind her fleeting figure. He rested his forehead on the door.

_How to explain this to the others. . . _

* * *

_Okay, before anyone asks me in a review:_

**_Irina's power: _**

**Irina's power is teleportation. When she was human (way back when), Irina was one of those people who would constantly show up out of nowhere, which just happened to be an extremely strong trait of hers. Over the years, she's become more accustomed to the distance between places, particularly when she has seen the place she needs to go. **

**_Why didn't Irina simply teleport to Korso's home in the first place?_**

**Irina had never been inside of the house before. She had never been anywhere near the house (located in Hamburg, Germany), yet she had been through that region of Germany, so she knew a basis of where to start.**

_Also, I added the cast list for _**Keeps Oxygen**_ to my profile, so go check it out!_

_And thank you everyone for the reviews, they mean tons!_


	5. Camisado

**Keeps Oxygen**

**Summary:** _Graduation has been known to separate people. But this? This is a little extreme._

**Disclaimer: **

_One shoe  
Two shoe  
Don't own  
__Don't sue_

* * *

Chapter 4

_"-Mommy and Daddy need to discuss some things."_

**The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.**

_"Birdie, Birdie, Birdie..."_

_"KORSO HADEON-!"_

_"Is it really so wrong that I found beauty in humanity?"_

**The the land of the killers, a sinner's mind is a sanctum.**

* * *

No sooner had the question crossed his mind, the door that had just been closed swung open again. Two figures slipped through, one after the other. 

"What did you do!?" The first to enter snarled, sliding off her coat. The woman possessed kind features, with a mottled purple for eye colour, and hair the colour of dark chocolate. She wore an androgynous pantsuit, and her dark locks were slipping out of a tightly-wound chignon. You would never know she had such beauty, though, were you to see her face contorted into such an ugly glare.

She repeated herself.

"What did you do?! We were only gone for half the hour!"

"Well, _Katryn, _I-" But the woman ignored Korso's attempt to explain, and followed the noise she was hearing. The second to enter the house, another woman, slid off her shawl and patted Korso on the arm as she followed.

The contrast between the two women was striking - while the first was long and agressive, the second was petite and delicate. She was blessed with the features of a doll, with auburn eyes that could burn a soul inside out at one glance. Her dark hair was styled in fingerwaves, and her outfit - which could be described more as a costume - seemed to suit that of an upperclass woman of the 1930's.

Korso sighed and followed the two down the hall and into the small room where the girl was still convulsing in pain.

Katherine was already by her side, stroking the hair out of her face. The other girl sat on the other side, an expression only describable as grief gracing her delicate face.

"She's so young," She murmured mournfully.

Katherine glanced briefly at her. "She's a year and a half older than you, Maren."

"That doesn't make it right."

Korso cleared his throat, letting his presence be known.

Katherine's eyes flashed black. "Maren," She spooke icily, "You stay with the girl; Mommy and Daddy need to discuss some things."

* * *

Once they were both out of the room, Katharine whirled around. 

"_What were you thinking?!" _She half-shrieked, shoving a finger into his face. "We have enough on our plates as it is without another addition to our 'family.' Maren and I go out for the first time in _two months _to hunt, and we go home to find _that-_"

Korso held up his hands. "Easy, Katharine," a deep tone of warning in his voice quieted said woman. He folded his arms. "Look, the only reason I have the girl here is because a former acquaintance of mine."

Katharine had been fervently passing the floors, and accelerated her pace when she heard this reply."_Another _acquaintance, Korso? Really, it must be _wonderful _to be as popular as you are. Pray tell the name of todays acquaintance?"

Korso suddenly became very interested with the tile flooring. "_Katryn, _have you ever noticed that not all of the tiles on the floor are terra cota coloured? Doesn't that one tile _right there_ look a little salmon-y? _Fascinating-" _He turned to glance at Katharine, only to realise that the distance between his face and her face was approximately 3 inches. And the judgemental pointing finger was back in his face too.

"_Korso Hadeon Bezraodka You Don't Give Me This Nonsense About Tiling I Know Exactly What Colour Our Tiling Is I Picked It Out Myself Now Tell Me Where You Got The Screaming Body From Or So Help Me God. In. Heaven!"_

Korso pushed the her hand away, and took a quick step back. He took a deep unneccessary breath. "Well... My friend from Denali-"

Korso could see Katharine grow even more pale than her 'natural complexion.' "Korso," She groaned, her teeth gritted, eyes locked shut, "_Please_ tell me that I haven't had one of those _blood yuppies _in my home today." When she was met with silence, her eyes shot open, raw fury radiating from them. "_KORSO HADEON-!"_

"In my defence," Korso quipped up, "It was Iri-"

Katharine waved her hand impatiently, "Ahh, yes, yes, I know, the ancient whore-" A crystal wall-hanging shattered within inches of her ear: she paid no attention, "-Now, if you're going to give me some pitiful excuse as to why we are in this predicament, you may as well give it a good effort.

So Korso gave the woman his 'pitiful excuse.' Katherine listened intently, making no noise, no acknowledgement to what was coming out of his mouth, save for the mention of Carlisle Cullen ("The prodigy child of the Volturi," Korso spat out); was it all in his imagination, or did Katharine's eyes sparkle a bit brighter than usual as the doctor's name entered the conversation?

Korso couldn't let it go - any chance to take the mickey out of her was glorious. "What don't tell me Aro's brainwashed you to love The Good Doctor as well?"

When Katharine met his gaze, Korso almost ate his words. He was stunned to see such an air of warmth and compassion in her eyes: so un-natural. "No, no - I just...remember a Dr. Cullen coming to my hometown when I was in my youth...back home in Columbus. He was very good to my family." Katharine's memories filled her eyes for a few moments, and Korso would later swear that he'd never seen such a peaceful look on a vampire.

After briefly shutting them, Katharine's eyes shot open, and the peace that had momentarily rested on her face vanished instantly. "Whether we are speaking of the same doctor is as likely as my getting a sunburn, " She shook her head, and, more to herself than Korso, muttered, "'s more than likely a half-rotted corpse six feet under somewhere...she'd would love..."

Katharine looked up at Korso. "The girl, what's her name?

The latter opened his mouth, only to soon shut it. Irina never mentioned an exact name; She had only referred to the girl as 'birdie.' Korso voiced this.

"Well," Katharine said briskly as she turned to leave the entrance hall, "You best inform Maren that 'Birdie' will be rooming with us here until your little girlfriend the succubus returns. After that, well...," She trailed off. "I'll be in my office if I'm needed." Katharine smiled. "If my May knew I was being so..._hospitable..._she would fall out of a tree."

Korso half-near ran back to Maren as he tried not to wonder what Katharine was finding to be so blindingly hilarious.

_Birdie, _He thought to himself, _Well, it suits her squawking._

* * *

If she was still alive, her heart would have been pounding out of her chest. 

Irina ran as fast as she could (which truly said something). The stress that had accumulated from the past 24 hours had strained her body and mind, and after teleporting back to America, she was too mentally exhausted to focus on her destination.

_Please let me get to them,_ she prayed. The thought of the Cullens sharing the same fate as her family-

Irina took an unneccessary breath. _Everything will be fine,_ she tried to assure herself, though the what-ifs flooded her mind at an alarming rate.

Her first thoughts were of the girl- _Bella._ What if the Cullens _did _share the fate of the Denali coven? Irina had just damned a poor, innocent girl to a dark, bleak life: a half-life without the ones she loved. The road Bella would have to face. . .

_And if I do return in time? Will I be prepared for what I may see?_

* * *

**_Ta-da!_**

**_After sitting in my folder for weeks, I finally received a wave of inspiration (Ahh, nothing gets the juices flowing like sitting in the blistering sun for hours). I'm finally starting to get the ball rolling a bit more, so it should start to get a bit more interesting from here on in._**

**_Thank you everyone for adding me to your 'Story Alert' and 'Author Alert' lists, and for reviewing. It's terribly cliche to say on this site, but reviews really DO get the chapters done sooner. Any support is awesome, though, so thank you if you've already reviewed._**

**_So, here I go! One chapter done, another one to start!_**

**_Love Lots,_**

**_//N-S//_**


	6. Lose Control

**Keeps Oxygen**

**Disclaimer: **

_One shoe  
Two shoe  
Don't own  
__Don't sue_

* * *

**Chapter 5  
_(Lose Control)_**

_**Duality.**_

_Carmen was too sensible to do anything **too **rash._

_"It's been near 5 years, Alice. She has to move on eventually."_

_**Nothing Better To Do.**_

_"That **poofy **girl of yours..."_

_"I've never been more ready."_

_**Would you die tonight for love?**_

* * *

_**Earlier that morning...**_

_Irina took a deep breath in. She had gone on an overnight hunting trip to the Northwest Territories, and was just skimming across the Alaska-Yukon Territories border. Yes, she could've teleported, but the weather was so blustery, and it was questionable as to when Irina would be able to run until after the Forks graduation._

_Anyone who said the best part was something other than the speed was off their rocker._

_She wasn't used to going hunting alone, though. Apparently, everyone was too busy - Kate (ever fascinated with world religion) was re-reading the Qu'ran; Tanya had been on the phone with Edward (those two could chat for hours, even with the speed of vampire speech); Eleazar was painting (**again)**; and Carmen-_

_Huh._

_Irina slowed to a graceful stop - she hadn't seen Carmen at all in the past day. It wasn't like Carmen, who was quite the homebody, and, like Esme, enjoyed spending her time renovating, and designing her home. Irina slipped her hands off of her hips. She shouldn't fuss over it- there was a great possibility that Carmen had also gone on a solo hunting trip. _

_Perhaps Carmen left early. If anyone lacked patience, it was Carmen. There was really no planning anything ahead of time- if something was worth planning, then Carmen wanted to do it right away._

_Irina chuckled to herself, then resumed her trip home - Though she was impatient, Carmen was too sensible to do anything **too** rash._

* * *

"Well, dear Irina was right after all..." Carmen smirked as she circled the remain six, "There _is_ one thing better than a dead Cullen." Her face twisted into a crude smile. "Now...who wants to be the guinea pig?" 

She scanned each one's face, hunger resting in her eyes that gave her the likeness of a wolf with six sheep: six sheep with nowhere to go. The smile, though, became a garish beam when she finally set her sights on-

"Rosalie, _darling,_" Carmen purred as she sauntered over to the blonde's still form, "Such a lovely young lady. She would be our perfect guinea pig, don't you agree, cousin?"

Cousin was not happy. "I really don't see the neccessitie in these theatrics, Carmen. We have a tight schedule resting here, and the last thing we need is for our schedule to be interrupted by that-" Victoria attempted to make several hand gestures to get the point across, but when it wasn't working out, and she soon gave up, "-that, that _poofy_ girl of yours to return."

Carmen's smile never faltered, yet her words took on a more tense tone. "Then I suggest you quit _bitching _and _complaining _about the situation and help get the rest of them off my hands, _cousin._"

"Goody." An equally twisted expression of happiness flight across Victoria's face. "I'd like nothing more than to succeed where both James and Laurent could not."

* * *

_Irina's thoughts moved from her Alaskan family to her Washington family- Edward in particular. _

_What an eventful year and a half for that boy. When Edward arrived in Denali a year and a half ago, he was wild with emotion, refusing to speak to anyone but Tanya. For almost three days straight the two were holed up in Tanya's room, Edward's muffled yells and Tanya's soothing tones echoing through the house. The memory made Irina smile - Tanya was always so maternal with everyone. It was unfortunate that she had been damned to such a dead and lonely life, as she would've made an extraordinary mother. According to Tanya, however, she would make do with that she could, and worked part-time at a day-care, and was contemplating distance-studying to receive her degree in Elementary Education -"So I can have many children." Tanya would say with a great beam across her face._

_Irina rolled her eyes. It made one wonder whether or not Tanya was trying to imitate Carlisle in acts of compassion, or was running for patron-saint. The thought nearly caused Irina to burst out laughing; A vampire as a patron saint? That would be the day._

_Eventually, it became harder to hear Edward's voice, and things were much less tense. At the end of the three days, the two emerged from the room. Tanya had her usual look of serenity on, and Edward looked a lot less troubled. Later that night, Carlisle paid a surpise visit. The love and respect that was between Carlisle and Edward was apparent, and Irina was thankful they had each other._

_Tanya did not discuss what she and Edward had talked about until Edward, Carlisle, and Eleazar went for a "boys hunting trip," and even then was rather tight-lipped. "He feels something for her," She mused not long after the three had left._

_"Well, why doesn't he just tell her?" Kate muttered crossly, "Why did he have to run to us?" Out of the four of the girls, Kate was the least romantic. _

_"Well, Katie, think about it - he's lived so long, and he's only just experiencing these feelings. It should get interesting from here on in."_

_And now he had Bella. Tanya had such faith, and she had ended up right._

_Irina was just contemplating whether or not she should purchase a gift for the happy couple when she saw the smoke._

* * *

_Yes, finally,_ Irina cried out in her mind as the **Welcome To Washington **sign crept into view. The moment Irina hit the border, that familiar feeling of weightlessness that came with her teleporation arose, and were a car passing, they would never have noticed a statuesque brunette vanish from the freeway.

* * *

"Now, you two..." Carmen sneered, as Victoria pulled Edward closer to Alice, "We have special plans in store for you two. With your talent, _dearie -_ " Carmen stepped forward and pinched Alice's cheek, " - we would be utterly _foolish_ to put you in the same situation as the others, and not keep you for ourselves. As for _you, boy - _" She glared towards Edward, " - you will be going on a nice _vacation._ Far, _far _away from the hustle and bustle. It'll give you a chance to rest your mind." Carmen beamed gleefully at her cousin. "Ready for take-off?" 

Victoria secured each hand securely around the necks of the two Cullens. "I've never been more ready," She vowed.

Carmen had just snaked her arm around Victoria's waist when the door flew off its hinges.

Irina had a mouthful of colourful things she had wanted to say upon her re-arrival at the Cullen home, but all of those things were lost as she became paralysed with shock at what she was seeing.

It was as if she was watching a malfunctioning television screen. The bodies of the four vampires in front of her gave off the appearance of defragmentation; as if pixels were being pulled away from their bodies one by one. The bodies were fading into transparency. She could see Edward try to say something, but no sound came from his mouth, and that action snapped Irina out of her stupor. She lunged forward to try and grab Alice and Edward, but it was like grabbing at a hologram - the picture was there, but there was zero substance. Irina could only watch in horror as Victoria, Carmen, Edward, and Alice faded from sight.

For hours afterwards, Irina simply sat against a wall, eyes glued to the spot where they had been.

_I failed,_ pounded through Irina's head. _I failed my family, and I failed the Cullens. _

She knew she had to return to the girl- _Bella -_ but first she had some recovery business to do.

* * *

**_  
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, the ball is definitely starting to roll now!  
Also, I don't know how many of you are actually following this story, but posting is going to be taking a bit of a break, as I will be going on holidays until the 18th of August.  
//N-S//_**


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